


valediction

by stupidsexyseguin



Series: moonbeams kiss the sea [8]
Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-07
Updated: 2017-09-07
Packaged: 2018-12-25 00:30:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12024303
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stupidsexyseguin/pseuds/stupidsexyseguin
Summary: danny says goodbye to philidelphia





	valediction

**Author's Note:**

> kissing meme archived from tumblr. works in the series are unconnected.
> 
> brioux - 1. Post Break Up Kiss - The kiss that catches both of you off guard, but says I miss you, I’m sorry and please love me again all at once without any words being spoken.
> 
> and
> 
> 3\. Hesitant Kiss - The type of kiss where their lips brush against each other’s a few times, breath fanning across each other’s faces as one waits for the other to make a move.

It’s not until he’s packing his bags at the Haddonfield house that the reality of everything hits Danny head on. 

He’s not a Flyer anymore.

he’s a Canadien.

he’s leaving everything and everyone in Philidelphia behind so he can keep playing Hockey. Because the team he thought he’d end his career at doesn’t want him anymore. and Danny doesn’t know who he is without hockey.

It’s so different to all the other moves, all the times he’s had to pack up and start over again in a new town. This time, he’s on his own. Just him and a couple of suitcases and the bare necessities. 

The boys need stability. They’re staying here with Sylvie. There’s not really a place for them with Danny in Montreal- where he’d never really be around as much as they need parents to be around between practice and games and media responsibilities. He’ll see them for holidays- Sylvie’s already agreed to let them fly up for the Christmas and All-star breaks- but it’s not the same as knowing that they’re at the most just across town from him when he wants to see them.

He doesn’t know what putting his career- putting  _ hockey _ \- first says about his state of Fatherhood. He hopes they know how much he loves them.

But Danny only has a few good years of hockey left in him and he’s never been good at goodbyes. He’s holding on as long as his ageing body will let him.

When he drops his bags by the door, ready to be taken out to the car before his flight tomorrow, he realises he’s not alone in the house.

Claude’s sitting on his couch.

Fuck. Claude. 

Claude made the move even harder. They’d only just started this- this  _ thing  _ between them, and now Danny was being banished to another country, to play for another team. The thought of playing against Claude made his stomach turn. 

He’d realised that this entire situation was unfair on Claude- on both of them to be honest- but Claude was so  _ young _ . He was the young, good looking, charming captain of a NHL team in the prime of his career, and he didn’t deserve to be stuck in a long-distance relationship with a divorced father of three whose time in hockey was fading fast that had to be hidden because they were both men. 

Danny didn’t want it to be his fault that Claude wasn’t experiencing everything life had to offer. Didn’t want Claude to miss out on things because he was tied to someone almost a thousand miles away.

So he’d gone to Claude’s apartment in Cherry Hill, had the conversation that had broken his heart. Watched as Claude just- accepted what he had to say with an expression that made Danny want to pull him into his arms and kiss all the hurt away. “ _ I understand _ ” he’d said, voice low and broken. He hadn’t seen Claude in weeks.

and now he’s sitting on Danny’s couch, in his eerily clean, quiet living room.

“ _ Claude _ .”

“ _ Hey, Danny _ .” Claude stands and shifts awkwardly on the spot, not quite looking at Danny. “ _ I just- came to say goodbye. I guess _ .” Danny can hear the way his voice cracks, can see the redness rimming his eyes.

“ _ You didn’t have to. _ ” Claude finally meets his eyes, hurt.  _ “I wasn’t expecting to see anyone before I left.” _

Claude swallows, teeth chewing at his bottom lip tensely. The need to hold him is back.

_ “I didn’t want to let you go without saying it. _ ” Claude crosses the room in a couple of determined paces, until standing right in front of Danny, all sad eyes and defeated shoulders. He’s so close that Danny can feel his breath gently hitting his cheek, but just far enough away that they’re not touching at all. “ _ I couldn’t let you go without one last kiss _ .”

Danny’s breath catches in his throat as Claude lets that fall in the silence between them. He makes a handful of these little jarring movements, swaying indecisively into Danny’s space, before a a flash of determination seems to take charge and he’s pressing forwards against Danny’s lips.

it’s soft and gentle and tooth-achingly sweet- full of unfulfilled hope and love and potential- and Danny feels something inside of himself break.

His hands take on a mind of their own; one winds itself into the soft cotton of Claude’s shirt, gripping tight and pulling him closer; the other buries itself into Claude’s short, soft, preseason hair. 

He deepens the kiss, feels Claude’s mouth open against his own, and the moment turns from sweet to desperate- Danny wants to take as much of this moment with him as he can, wants to remember the way they fit together, the way Claude feels against him, the way he tastes on Danny’s tongue. 

If this is all he has left, he wants it to make it last as long as he can.

 


End file.
